From pianos to paintings in St Margaret's School's closing down sale

PAINTINGS by renowned artists and a grand piano are among the items from a former independent school set to go under the hammer to recoup losses.

St Margaret's School in Edinburgh closed at the end of term before the summer holiday because of dwindling pupil numbers and financial issues.

Now the entire contents of the former independent school are to be auctioned under instructions of the liquidator.

A browse through the catalogue reveals the life of a private school up for sale. From the "fine art and antique furniture" section with its chaise longue, three grand pianos (two from the late 19th century) and seven upright pianos, to the contents of the headmistress's office of the junior school, including a table and chair.

A wide range of items used by the pupils in their everyday lessons are listed, including 35 computers and seven printers from the IT suites, and musical instruments such as a brass French horn, two cellos and four clarinets. Contents of the art room include a potter's wheel, as well as gear from the darkroom and cameras.

Kitchen and canteen equipment feature a stainless steel mobile cash register with trolley, 20 canteen tables and 130 plastic stacking chairs.

Other lots include a seven-metre aluminium ladder, a 16-seat minibus with 58,000 miles on the clock, a steel 20ft shipping container and, sold separately, its contents consisting of sports landing mats and a variety of other sporting equipment.

The pianos include a Bechstein grand and there is an oil painting entitled Temple Village by Scottish landscape and still life artist Sir William George Gillies. Another painting featured in the collection is Weather Clearing After Rain by well-known Scottish landscape artist James Morrison.

The sale will be carried out on behalf of the liquidators by international property consultation firm King Sturge.

Gordon Calder, partner of King Sturge, pointed out that several of Morrison's paintings are owned by members of the Royal Family.He said: "We anticipate strong interest for all the lots, particularly for the paintings, which have historical significance".

The online auction of about 520 lots will start on Tuesday, 14 September and then run for two days.

Viewing will take place at the former school building from Monday, 13 September, until 15 September.

Parents admitted being reduced to tears after their desperate attempts to find a buyer for the school failed.

The school went into liquidation and closed in June of this year after a history stretching back to 1890.

At the time, it had 397 pupils, most of whom found places at other private schools in the city.

The 143 former staff are currently fighting for pension and redundancy payments after it emerged that their final pension payments had not been made.

Val Devlin, spokeswoman for the St Margaret's Parents and Friends Association, said: "Time and again we asked about the state of the school's finances and were told they were fine, when clearly they were not.

"It's obvious that the school was unviable long before we heard about it. We are furious we were not given a proper chance to save the school."

Earlier this month, it was revealed that financial troubleshooters were secretly called in two years ago to examine finances at the school.